Trespassing on railroad property is not only against the law, but every year results in hundreds of untimely deaths (http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/officeofsafety), which have saddened even citizens of our own area on occasion. There are dangers– too numerous to list here (but check out Operation Lifesaver at oli.org/safety_tips/index.html)– just from stepping into the industrial environment which characterizes a railroad. And the perils are magnified when one boards a freight train– especially risky for life and limb if it's moving– and then clings to a precarious perch for an unknown distance and duration at a speed that precludes safe alighting.

Trespassers add to the cost of goods sold because railroads must hire security to prevent vandalism and thievery (a well-organized activity in some areas). And in these days of heightened security against terrorists, I would have little sympathy for a trespasser who ended up in jail after what he or she thought would be just a here-to-somewhere lark. (Not to mention the itinerant existence of violent criminals who are known to prey upon naive riders.)

I look forward to your follow-up article featuring the views of railroad police and those local constabularies in certain areas who have had to deal with victims thrown from moving trains after an on-board rape, robbery, or murder by a gang of newfound "friends."